


Steve Rogers's Magical Encounter

by velvetjinx



Category: Captain America (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, How Do I Tag, M/M, gratuitous stealth suit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-04
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2018-10-14 20:17:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10543712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/velvetjinx/pseuds/velvetjinx
Summary: Steve Rogers is chasing Loki down, when he meets a guy wearing strange robes. A guy who introduces himself as Harry Potter?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is all tumblr's fault. Sorry not sorry.

Steve sneaks through the guts of the abandoned building, shield raised in front of him. Loki is around here somewhere, if only Steve can just find him. 

“You okay, Steve?” Bucky murmurs in his ear via radio transmitter. 

“I'm fine. No sign of him yet. You know, you didn't have to come on this mission,” Steve says quietly, knowing that Bucky still has nightmares about HYDRA controlling his mind. 

“What, and miss ogling you in your stealth suit? Unlikely.” Bucky chuckles, and Steve grins. 

“If y’all could stop flirting in my ear for like a second,” Sam snarks, voice crackling in Steve's earpiece, “there's an anomalous heat signature on the fourth floor. Could be him.”

“I'm making my way up now,” Steve says, climbing the basement stairs. He rounds a corner, almost bumps into someone wearing long robes and grasping a stick, and lets out a quiet shriek. 

“Steve?” Bucky sounds panicked, and Steve waits for his heart rate to go back to normal as he and the newcomer eye each other up.

“I'm fine. It's not him,” Steve says, before addressing the guy. “What are you doing here? In case you didn't know, there's a dangerous alien bad guy in the building, and we’ve been sent to clear it.”

“Alien?” The guy’s eyes widen. “That's not… we thought it was someone magi--” He clamps his mouth shut and shakes his head. “Who are you?”

Steve's eyes widen. “I'm… I'm Steve Rogers. Captain America?” he clarifies when the guy still looks blank. “Who are you?”

“Oh, um. Harry. Harry Potter.” The guy--Harry--narrows his eyes. “So if you're American, what are you doing in London?”

“I'm an Avenger? We have missions all over the world?” 

“An Avenger?”

“Don't you watch the news?”

Harry shrugs. “Not often.”

“You still haven't answered my question. Why are you here?” Steve asks. 

“I'm, um. Law enforcement,” Harry replies, but something doesn't ring true. 

“And what about your clothes? I've seen what law enforcement in Britain wear, and they don't wear robes.”

Harry sighs. “I'm sorry I'm going to have to do this, but you're asking too many questions. Obliviate!” he says, pointing the stick at Steve. A jet of light flies out just as one of Sam's birds hits the stick and the light hits the wall beside Steve. Steve's eyes widen. 

“What the fuck was that?”

“Steve, are you okay? Do you need backup?” Bucky asks him, sounding frantic, and Steve shakes his head. 

“I'm fine, Buck. Look,” he says to Harry, “why don't you put down your weapon, and we'll talk about this.”

“I'm sorry, Steve. But you're a muggle. I can't let you out of here, having seen what you've seen.” He points the stick at Steve again; this time, Steve raises his shield and the light bounds off it back towards Harry, who yelps and dives out of the way. 

Steve is starting to get antsy. Time is wasting, and Loki is going to get away again if he doesn't hurry. 

“Look, Harry, it's been great to meet you, I think. But I've got a job to do, so if you're not with Loki you're on my side. Are you coming with me or not?”

Harry sighs and picks himself up, dusting off his robes. “Fine,” he says, slightly sullenly. “I'll help you with your alien.”

They climb the stairs together in silence, but Steve can't keep quiet long. “What kind of weapon is that? Is it alien? Stark tech?”

“It's, um. Hard to explain.”

“I've got time.”

“I can't tell you,” Harry says with a sigh. 

“Hmm, top secret tech?”

“Something like that.”

Steve shrugs. “Whatever it is, it looks pretty cool. What does it do?”

“Whatever I want it to,” Harry says impatiently. “Are you always this talkative when you're trying to creep up on someone?”

“Nope.” Steve gives him a sunny grin, and Harry's lips twitch. “Okay. There's supposed to be an anomalous heat signature on this floor, so keep your weapon drawn.”

“Where's your weapon?” Harry asks. 

“I am the weapon,” Steve replies grimly, before pushing open the stairwell door. 

There's nothing there. “Dammit. Sam, where is he?”

“Heat signature’s disappeared, Cap. He's gone.”

“Son of a bitch,” Steve sighs and, distracted, doesn't notice Harry drawing his weapon again. The next thing he knows, he's waking up on the floor of an unfamiliar room, Bucky leaning over him. 

“He's awake, Sam!” Bucky says, before glaring at Steve. “Who was that guy? Was he working with Loki, do you think?”

“What guy?” Steve asks, confused. “Where am I? Last I knew I was in the basement and you were talking about my stealth suit.”

Bucky stares at him. “You don't remember?”

“Remember what?” 

“You met some guy, Harry something? He had some kind of weapon you didn't recognize.”

Steve shakes his head. “Sorry, Buck. I've no idea.”

He holds out his hand and Bucky hauls him up before pulling him into a kiss. “Don't fucking do that to me again,” he says hoarsely. 

“Okay?” Steve is really confused and isn't quite sure what he's agreeing to, but if it makes Bucky happy that's all that matters. 

“Come on. We’d better get back to the others and report.”

Steve nods and follows Bucky out. They'll catch Loki next time; in the meantime, he's going to take two Tylenol, because his head is killing him. He wonders, too, about this mystery memory stealing Harry guy. If Loki’s got a new ally, that could complicate things. 

Bucky bumps Steve shoulder with his own, and he smiles. Whatever happens, at least he knows he'll always have Bucky by his side.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People asked for more, so here is more! I'm already planning a third chapter too, so stay tuned.

Two days later, they've tracked Loki to an old warehouse near the Thames. 

“There's someone in the office at the back, so you're gonna have to cross a lot of open space to get to him,” Sam says in Steve's ear. 

Steve looks at Bucky and they exchange nods. Bucky raises his assault rifle as they walk forward towards the door of the warehouse. They're almost there when a figure rounds the corner and stops, staring at them. 

“Steve?” the guy hisses. 

“Do I know you?” Steve whispers. The guy’s wearing weird robes, and has messy dark hair, glasses, and a weird lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. Steve doesn't recognize him at all. 

“Do I… oh right, sorry.” The guy smiles sheepishly. “I'm Harry. Uh. Potter.” 

Bucky immediately places his finger over the trigger, narrowing his eyes. “Steve, this is the guy who took your memories,” Bucky murmurs, and Harry's eyes widen. 

“How do you…? Anyway. Um. Sorry about that. I had to.”

“You don't ‘have to’ wipe anyone's memories,” Bucky growls, and oh god, Steve can't imagine how Bucky feels knowing that the same thing happened to him for so many years. “So give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot you where you stand.”

Harry takes out what looks like a wooden stick and flicks it, and Bucky's gun flies out of his hands, landing a few feet away. Bucky immediately runs towards Harry, grabbing him around the throat with his metal hand. The stick flicks again, and Bucky flies backwards, propelled by some unseen force. 

Harry coughs and rubs his throat. “That's quite a grip you have,” he says hoarsely. 

“What the hell?” Bucky gets up and looks as though he's going to charge Harry again, but Steve holds up his hand to signal to him to stay back. 

“So who’s in there?” Harry asks. 

“Same guy as you stopped us from catching last time,” Bucky retorts. “You working with Loki?”

Harry shakes his head. “I don't know any Loki. I was sent here to investigate some, uh, strange happenings.”

“Steve, Bucky, what's happening? Who is that guy? Do you need backup?” Sam's voice sounds in his ear, and Steve looks at Harry for a moment, sizing him up. 

“Not yet, Sam. Stand by,” Steve tells him. “So, Harry, if you're not working with Loki, why are you getting in our way and wiping our memories?”

“I'm not trying to get in your way,” Harry says, frustrated, “and I told you. I had to wipe your memory. You'd seen too much. You both have.”

“If you think you're wiping my memory, pal, you have another thing coming.” Bucky narrows his eyes. 

Harry sighs. “You wouldn't believe me even if I told you.”

“We'd believe you. We're pretty familiar with the strange and unusual,” Steve says with a smile. 

Harry sighs again. “Hermione’s going to kill me for this,” he mutters. “Okay, we'll talk, but do you want to investigate first?”

Steve exchanges a look with Bucky, who nods. “Okay,” says Steve. “Let's go get him.”

“Steve, Bucky, there was some kind of large...event, at the back of the warehouse,” Sam's voice crackles in his ear. “Like a big blast of something and now there are no heat signatures at all.”

“Shit,” Steve curses. “He's gone again. Come on, we'd better see if he's left anything behind.”

Bucky picks up his gun and the three of them cautiously enter the warehouse, but it's completely dark and empty, save for a few old wooden crates. When they get to the office at the back, there's some kind of sparkling sand on the floor. 

“The hell is that?” Bucky asks softly, taking out a small bag and scooping some of the sand up. “We'd better get this back to Tony for analysis. See if he can figure out what it is or where it came from.”

Steve nods, then turns on his heel towards Harry, who is also taking a sample. 

“Okay. Talk.”

Harry grimaces, leaning against a rusty filing cabinet. “I shouldn't be telling you this, and you can't tell anyone else, but if we're both going to be chasing the same guy we can't waste time every time with introductions. I hate deja vu.” He sighs. “Okay, so. First of all, I'm an auror, which is. Uh. Magical law enforcement.”

“Magic,” Bucky says flatly. “You're telling me you're--”

“A wizard. Yes.”

Bucky looks incredulous, and Steve nudges him with his shoulder. “Hey, Buck, remember how we're both genetically enhanced super soldiers, and how I've fought robot aliens? And how one of our friends can turn into a giant green guy?”

Bucky laughs. “Okay, you've got a point. So that stick is…?”

“My wand.”

“And you do magic spells with it.”

“Uh huh.”

“And one of those spells wipes memories.”

Harry looks uncomfortable. “I can reverse it if you want, Steve.”

Steve nods. “Yeah, please. I don't like having missing memories.”

Harry points his stick--wand, Jesus--at Steve and mutters something, and Steve suddenly has a rush of memory as their first meeting comes flooding back. The force of it makes him grab Bucky's arm to steady himself, and he blinks. 

“Wow. Um. Thanks?”

“You cannot tell _anyone_ about this, though! Promise! And your friend who’s listening in has to promise too.”

“We promise,” Steve says quickly. “Right? Bucky, Sam? We're not going to tell anyone your secret.”

Harry nods, looking relieved. “Thanks. One of my best friends might be the Minister for Magic, but she'd kill me if she knew I'd broken the Statute of Secrecy for the sake of convenience.” He pauses. “I love Hermione, but she can be pretty scary.”

“We'll take your word for it,” Steve says with a grin. “But no more wiping our memories, okay?”

“Fair enough,” Harry responds, holding out his hand. Steve shakes it and, after a moment, so does Bucky. “I'm going to to see if we can get anything from the stuff he left behind on the floor too, and I suppose I'll probably see you when he turns up next?” 

Harry grins, then twirls on the spot and disappears with a pop. Steve and Bucky's eyes widen. 

“Where the fuck did he go?” Bucky asks, and Steve lets out a short laugh. 

“I guess that was magic? Fuck. This has been a weird night.”

“You're not wrong. You okay?” Bucky looks concerned, and Steve smiles. 

“I'm fine, Buck.” Steve leans in and gives him a quick kiss. “Okay. Let's get out of here and get this sample to Tony.”

They head out to meet Sam, but Steve looks back over his shoulder for one last look at the spot where Harry had disappeared. 

Magic. He can barely believe it.


	3. Chapter 3

Steve looks up at the high rise building, and sighs. 

“He would lead us to the middle of London,” he mutters. 

Bucky nods. “He's getting braver.”

“So what's the play, Cap?” Clint asks as he strides up, Wanda behind him. Steve, Bucky and Sam had decided that this time they needed additional backup, given that Loki was now in the middle of the city, and they figured the more people on the case the more chance of damage control. 

That was the theory, anyway. 

“What's the good word, Sam?” Steve asks. 

“There's someone on the twentieth floor--I think it might be him,” Sam says into his ear. 

“Okay. Thanks, Sam.” Steve nods at the others, and they follow him inside, into the lobby. “We'll take the elevator to the eighteenth floor and walk from there. We don't want to tip him off too early that we're coming.”

They walk towards the elevators, when there's a noise behind them. They all turn; Bucky raises his gun, Clint raises his bow, and Steve's eyes widen behind his shield. 

“Harry?”

“Hi, Steve. Bucky. And you brought friends this time?” Harry looks pained. “Well, that's great.”

“This is Clint and Wanda,” Steve says with a smile. “Guys, this is Harry. He's been… helping.”

“Same guy?” Harry asks, and Steve nods. 

“Yeah, it's Loki. He's getting bolder if he's moved into the center of London, which isn't a good sign.”

“Then let’s go get him.” Harry looks determined, his wand in hand, and they crowd into the elevator. 

“Did you get any results on that sand we found?” Steve asks quietly. 

“All we got was that it seemed to be alien, which I guess would make sense,” Harry replies. 

“Same here. Tony--he's on our team--is gonna run more tests, see what he can come up with.”

The elevator dings as they reach the eighteenth floor, and they silently pad up the staircase to the twentieth. They enter the floor, but there's no sign of Loki. 

“You sure he's here, Sam?” Steve asks. 

“He was a minute ago, let me just--Steve, look out!” Sam yells as a bright burst of light flies towards them. Steve raises his shield and the light bounces off it, knocking him backwards. 

“Why do you puny mortals keep trying to interfere with me?” Loki says, stepping forward. “Do you honestly think you can stop me?” He pauses, noticing Harry. “I see you have a new team member. What does he do?”

Harry raises his wand, and ropes shoot out, wrapping around Loki. “Well, that, for one thing,” he says casually, and both Clint and Wanda gape at him. 

Loki struggles against his bonds. “Well, that's interesting,” he murmurs, then disappears. The ropes fall to the floor, and Harry looks at Steve. 

“What the hell just happened?”

Another burst of light comes from the corner of the room, but it bounces off of thin air. Steve looks questioningly at Harry. 

“Shield spell,” Harry says with a grin, as Wanda steps forward, gathering her power before sending desks and various objects into the corner. 

“He can mess with your mind--make you see things that aren't there. Be careful,” Steve warns Harry as Loki emerges from the corner, some kind of weapon raised. Clint fires three arrows off in quick succession as Wanda continues her assault, but Loki dodges the arrows and destroys the furniture flying towards him with his weapon. 

“Is that the best you've got?” Loki sneers, but he's so focused on them that he doesn't see the desk fly from behind him and it knocks him over. He lands with an “oof” before scrambling to his feet, looking angry. “Stop interfering with my plans,” he snarls, before disappearing in a flash of light. 

“Okay, one, where did he go, and two, how did you do that thing with the ropes?” Clint asks Harry, who sighs. 

“Magic,” he says, frowning. 

“You mean like a magician?” Wanda asks. 

“I mean like a wizard. I can do magic--real magic--with my magic wand.” Harry hold up his wand, and Clint’s eyes widen. 

“Can you make my arrows magic?” he asks, bouncing on his toes, and Steve hides a grin. 

“I probably shouldn't,” Harry replies. “I'm going to be in enough trouble as it is for telling you magic exists. Hey, there's an idea,” he adds, turning to Steve. “Why don't you come with me to talk to Hermione? She's the Minister of Magic and she’s a bit confused about this Loki guy. I'm guessing you can explain it better than I can.”

Steve nods. “Okay.”

“I'm coming with you,” Bucky interrupts, and Harry gives him an assessing look, before shrugging. 

“Suit yourself. But can you leave your gun behind? We're going to be in my house and I don't want my kids around that.”

“Uh, sure,” Bucky replies warily, handing his gun to Wanda. Wanda holds the gun like it’s a poisonous snake, and Harry nods.

“Thanks. Okay, come with me.”

Steve and Bucky follow Harry outside. Harry waves his wand and is suddenly wearing normal clothes--jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. “Less conspicuous,” he says with a grin, answering the unasked question. 

They take the tube, and aside from one girl squealing over the accuracy of Steve's “cosplay”, they get to their stop without incident. Harry leads them down a few streets to a house, and waves his wand surreptitiously. 

“I'm just adjusting the wards so you can get inside,” he explains, which isn't an explanation at all but before Steve can ask a follow up question Harry opens the door and a young girl with long red hair throws herself at him. 

“Dad! You're home! James has been annoying me again and Albus is backing him up.”

“And what does your mum say?”

“She told them to stop but they won't so I thought you should take their brooms off them or…” She trails off as she sees Steve and Bucky. “Um. Dad. There are strangers here.”

“Very observant, Lils,” Harry says with a laugh. “Muggles, too.”

The girl’s eyes widen. “Dad, why are you bringing muggles to the house?”

“Muggles?” A woman walks into the room, with long red hair like the little girl’s. Her face is fresh and pretty, with a smattering of freckles on her pert nose. “What about muggles?”

“They're our guests!” Harry replies brightly. “Steve, Bucky, this is my wife Ginny and our daughter Lily. These are people I've been working with on this recent case.”

Ginny raises her eyebrows. “And Hermione gave you permission to break the Statute of Secrecy for this, did she?”

“Er, well. I'm just going to go firecall her. If you guys want to follow me?”

Steve and Bucky follow Harry into a large sitting room with a big open fire, which is burning despite the fact it's the height of summer. Harry grabs a handful of something off the mantelpiece and throws it into the fire, which turns green, before sticking his head into the flames. Steve turns to Bucky, eyes wide, and sees Bucky staring at Harry with a dumbfounded expression. 

They can hear Harry talking, although his words are muffled, then he pulls his head out of the fire. Before Steve can ask him what the hell that was all about, a woman flies out the chimney, landing neatly on her feet in the hearth. She smoothes back her bushy hair and looks between Harry and where Steve is standing with Bucky. 

“Harry, who is this? And what do they have to do with the case?”

“This is Steve Rogers, Captain America, and his friend Bucky… sorry, I don't know your last name?”

“Uh. Barnes.”

“This is Hermione Granger, Minister of Magic. They know a lot more about this Loki guy so I thought it might be useful to bring them here.”

“Aren't you working with the American Magical authorities on this?” Hermione asks curiously. 

“Um, no? We're not--”

“They're muggles,” Harry blurts out, interrupting Steve, and Hermione looks like she's about to pitch a fit. 

“Muggles? Harry James Potter, are you telling me you _broke the Statute of Secrecy_?” she shrieks, and Harry winces. 

“Well I couldn't keep obliviating them, ‘Mione,” he whines. “And besides, they know stuff about this guy.”

“Is it just these two who know?”

“Well…”

“Harry!”

“Their team too,” Harry says with a sigh. “They're not going to tell anyone, I promise.”

Hermione frowns. “There are rules in place for a reason, Harry. They've worked for centuries.”

“We’ve never had to deal with an alien before now, though!”

Hermione pinches the bridge of her nose. “Perhaps we should sit down.”

They sit in the comfortable armchairs, and Steve notices that there are no electric lights, or electrical appliances of any kind, for that matter. There are what appear to be candle holders on the walls, though. He's looking around curiously when Ginny comes in, carrying a tea tray. 

“I thought you all might like tea or coffee,” she says brightly. “Hello, Hermione. How are you?”

“Frazzled, thanks to your husband, Gin,” Hermione replies, but she's smiling as she says it, which Steve assumes is a good sign. 

“Um, thank you,” Steve says to Ginny, who smiles at him before leaving. Harry pours out two coffees, which he hands to Steve and Bucky, then takes up the teapot and pours out two cups of tea. After adding milk he hands one of the cups to Hermione, who thanks him before taking a sip. 

“All right,” she says slowly to Steve. “Who is this alien and why does he call himself after a Norse god of mischief?”

“Well, that's the thing,” Steve says a little uncomfortably. “He _is_ the Norse god of mischief.”

Hermione stares at him. “You're kidding,” she says faintly. 

Steve shakes his head. “They're all real. Thor comes to earth to help us sometimes, he's kind of cool, but Loki is… not. He's kind of a terrible guy, so we’re trying to catch him.”

“Thor and Loki,” Hermione says slowly, an edge of hysteria to her voice. “That's amazing. And what about you two? Are you Norse gods?”

“No, ma’am, we're genetically enhanced super soldiers,” Steve replies with a grin. 

Hermione looks like she doesn't quite know what to do with that. “Are all of your team like that?”

“No. There's Tony--Iron Man--he has a technologically advanced suit. Then there's Clint, a master archer; Natasha, who used to be a Russian assassin; Sam, who flies with the aid of his suit; Wanda, who can move things with her mind… oh yeah, and Vision, who can do all kinds of stuff. We made him.”

“I'm sorry, you what?” Harry asks, his jaw just about hanging to the floor. 

“We made him, using some alien stone, flesh an vibranium.”

“Like Frankenstein’s monster?” Hermione looks appalled. 

“No, no,” Steve says quickly. “It's kind of hard to explain. And then there's Bruce, who turns into a giant green hulk.”

“I'd like to meet your team,” Hermione says after a pause. “I want to know who these muggles are who we're breaking the Statute for. I'm afraid this is non-negotiable,” she adds as Steve opens his mouth. “We simply can't have a group of muggles just running around out there knowing our secret.”

Steve looks at Bucky, who shrugs. “I'll arrange a meeting,” Steve agrees. He downs the rest of his coffee and sets the china cup on the tray. “So tell me more about magic?”


	4. Chapter 4

“What do you want to know about magic?” Hermione asks, leaning back in her armchair and blowing idly over her tea. 

“How…? I mean, what…?” Steve has so many questions he doesn't know where to start and Hermione smiles at him understandingly. 

“I know it's a lot to take in. I was muggleborn so it came as quite a surprise to me and my parents when I got my Hogwarts letter.”

“Hogwarts?” Bucky asks, setting his empty coffee cup down on the tray. 

“School for magic,” Harry supplies helpfully, and both Steve and Bucky gape at him. 

“School for--for magic?” Steve can't quite believe what he's hearing. 

“Yeah, you get a letter when you're eleven if you have a place at Hogwarts, if you're magical, and you go and learn spells and how to brew potions and stuff.” Harry shrugs. “You can also learn stuff like divination, although that's not always popular.” He shoots a grin at Hermione, who sticks her nose in the air. 

“I said it before and I'll say it again: ninety percent of that divination stuff is rubbish. I don't deny that there are real seers, obviously, given the prophecy about you, Harry, but--”

“You were prophesied?” Bucky's eyes are so wide Steve wonders if they're going to pop out his head, though to be fair he's just as amazed. 

“It's… complicated.” Harry squirms, looking slightly uncomfortable. 

“Harry is the hero of the wizarding world,” Hermione says matter-of-factly. “When he was seventeen he killed the Dark Lord Voldemort. With a little help from his friends.” She smiles slyly at Harry, who pouts. 

“Hermione, why did you have to tell them that?” he whines. 

“You killed someone when you were seventeen?” Steve asks. 

Harry sighs. “He was trying to take over the wizarding world and if he'd managed, he'd have killed as many muggles as he could have. And I didn't kill him, exactly. It was him who cast the Killing Curse, but I made it aim itself back at him and… Well. It's a long story and we don't really have time for that right now.”

“I have a book I can lend you,” Hermione says helpfully, and Harry glares at her. 

“What's a killing curse?” Bucky asks curiously. 

“Pretty much what it sounds like. It's one of the Unforgivables, along with the Cruciatus Curse and the Imperius Curse.” Harry takes a sip of his tea, looking slightly uncomfortable. 

“What do they do?” Steve asks. 

“The Cruciatus Curse inflicts agony on the person it's aimed at. Basically it's a form of torture. The Imperius Curse controls people. Mind control.”

Bucky tenses. “What the fuck? Mind control? You have a spell for that?”

“No good witches or wizards use them,” Hermione says quietly. “That's why they're called Unforgivables--because they're so evil.”

“Luckily they're not easy to cast,” Harry adds, his tone somewhat rueful. “You have to really mean them to cast them, otherwise they don't really work.”

“Well, the Imperius Curse doesn't really work on you anyway, Harry,” Hermione says, and Harry shrugs. 

“Yeah, but it's still dangerous to most people.”

“So what classes do you take at a school for magic?” Steve asks, unable to let that part of the conversation go. 

“Arithmancy, ancient runes, potions, defense against the dark arts, transfiguration, care of magical creatures, charms, herbology…” Hermione reels off. 

“Do you play soccer?” Steve asks. “Any sports?”

“Only quidditch.” Harry grins. “It's a sport on broomsticks.”

“Broomsticks,” Bucky says flatly. “Like… brooms you fly about on?”

“Harry was excellent at quidditch. So is Ginny--she played professionally,” Hermione tells them. 

“This is a lot to take in, I know,” Harry says. “I guess I take it for granted now, but I didn't know I was a wizard until I was eleven either.”

“Were you--what did you call it--muggleborn as well?” Bucky asks, but Harry shakes his head. 

“No,” he replies stiffly. “My parents were killed when I was just over a year old and I lived with muggle relatives. They didn't want to admit that magic was real so they told me my parents died in a car crash.”

“How were they killed?” Steve asks. 

“Voldemort killed them. They were betrayed by one of my dad’s best friends.”

“Oh, god, I'm so sorry,” Steve says softly. 

Harry shrugs. “It was a long time ago. That's how I got this scar.” He points to the scar on his forehead. “He tried to kill me too, but my mother’s sacrifice--her dying for me--protected me and the curse rebounded on him.”

“So why didn't he die then?” Bucky asks. 

Hermione and Harry exchange a glance, and Hermione shrugs. 

“He made something called horcruxes,” Harry says at length. “When you kill someone, a bit of your soul splits off. There's a spell where you can capture that bit of soul in an object. It's a very evil spell, and one which is used to cheat death.”

Steve feels slightly sick. “So how did you kill him, if he was able to do that?”

“We destroyed all the horcruxes,” Harry replies grimly. “Including the one in me.” He smirks at Hermione. “I do miss being a parselmouth, though.”

“What's that?”

“It means he could talk to snakes,” Hermione replies, and Steve has had pretty much enough for one day. 

“This is… a lot to take in,” he says slowly. 

“I know.” Hermione’s smile is kind. “But if you're going to be working with a wizard or two then you'll need to know some of the background.”

Steve nods. “Well, thank you for the coffee, but I think we’d better be getting back to the team.”

“When can we meet?” Hermione asks. 

“Tomorrow afternoon? We’ll have to brief the team fully.”

“That sounds fine,” Hermione says. “I'll clear my diary--I don't think I have anything on that can't wait.” She frowns. “I think we should bring Ron, though.”

“Who's Ron?” Bucky asks. 

“My husband.” Hermione smiles. “He’s an auror like Harry. Magical law enforcement,” she adds when Steve and Bucky look blank. “Where will we find you?”

“Got a pen?” Steve holds out his hand, and instead of a notebook and normal pen, Harry hands him what appears to be a piece of parchment and… “Is this a _quill_?”

Harry sets an ink pot down on the table and looks at Steve slightly guiltily. “Um. Yes?”

Steve shakes his head and dips the quill in the ink before scribbling down the address of the hotel they're staying in. 

“Come about two p.m.? That should give us enough time for explanations.”

Steve and Bucky stand, and Harry and Hermione follow suit. 

“It was nice to meet you,” Steve says to Hermione, shaking her hand.

She smiles back at him. “Nice to meet you too. And I suppose I'll see you both tomorrow.”

Bucky shakes hands as well, and together they follow Harry to the door. As soon as they're outside, they look at each other, before bursting into near-hysterical laughter. 

The team is never going to believe this.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long! I got distracted with a million other projects. I'll try and be quicker next time. D:

When Steve briefs the team the following morning, Tony is the first to burst into disbelieving laughter. 

“Magic? That's hardly plausible. I'm thinking you boys got taken in by a very clever con.”

“Tony, we made Vision using a magic stone, remember?” Steve says dryly, and Tony splutters. 

“It's not magic! It's just--”

“Got powers that can't be explained?”

Tony sighs. “Okay. So allowing for magic to be real--which I still don't believe, by the way--why do they want to help?”

“They see Loki as a threat too. I think they thought he was using magic, which he might have been, by their definition.” Steve relaxes back on the sofa, and Bucky shifts so his arm is around Steve's shoulders. “They play sports on broomsticks and everything. I'm having some trouble believing it myself.”

“So this Harry guy is coming, and who else?” Tony asks. 

“Hermione Granger, the Minister of Magic, who I think is basically the president of magical folks in Britain? And her husband Ron. He works with Harry.”

“Well, okay. We'll see how this goes then,” Tony says, raising his eyebrows. 

***

At two p.m. on the dot, there's a knock on the door of Tony's hotel suite, which is what they're using as a base. Steve looks through the spyhole and smiles as he opens the door to let Harry, Hermione and a ginger man who Steve assumes is Ron into the room. 

Steve makes the introductions, and Hermione nods before turning to Steve. 

“I've been reading up on you, Steve. You and your team.”

Steve sees Ron and Harry exchange an amused glance, and wonders what it means. 

“Oh?” he replies. 

“Some of you aren't very good at following the rules.”

“If a situation is going south, sometimes rules are made to be broken,” Steve says determinedly, and Hermione smirks. 

“Another Gryffindor. Oh dear.” Before Steve can ask what she means, she continues, “You do understand, however, that you cannot under any circumstances reveal the existence of magic to anyone. Ever.”

“Why not?” Tony asks suddenly. “I mean, if someone has some problem that could be fixed easily with magic, why not?”

Hermione sighs. “It's complicated. The point is, magic does have to be kept secret, to avoid a lot of jealousy and hatred against the magical world. You used to burn witches, remember?” 

Tony looks ready to say something else, but Steve holds up a hand and he subsides. 

“Now, I think we need some tea. Coffee? Tea?” Hermione asks. Most of the Avengers go for coffee, except for Wanda. Hermione takes out her wand and points at the coffee table, and suddenly there are tea cups, and a teapot, as well as a French press full of coffee. There's also milk and sugar. 

The team stare at the magicked up beverages, wide eyed. Hermione ignores them and starts to pour. 

She starts handing out the coffee cups, and Tony takes a sniff of his. 

“Is this safe?” he asks, and Hermione’s mouth twitches. 

“It's fine. Drink it or don't, it's your choice, but it really is just coffee.”

As a show of solidarity, Steve takes a sip of his, and Bucky does the same. 

It's not just coffee. 

It's _really nice_ coffee. 

Bucky makes a happy noise. “This tastes amazing! Better than the shit you usually buy us, Tony.”

Tony looks annoyed, but takes a sip of his coffee after loading it up with milk and sugar. 

“So, Wanda, I hear you have powers?” Hermione asks, her eyes lighting up. 

Wanda nods. “If you want a demonstration…?”

“Yes, please!”

“I'm going to need a volunteer?”

Clint stands, his coffee cup already empty. “I'll volunteer.”

Wanda smiles at him, and he's surrounded by a red haze as Wanda lifts him off the ground until his head nearly bumps the ceiling, then sets him back down again. 

“I can also put images, hallucinations, into people’s minds,” Wanda adds softly, and Hermione sits forward in her seat. 

“Fascinating,” she murmurs. “And how did you get these powers?”

“Through the stone that's in Vision’s forehead, I believe,” Wanda replies. “My twin brother, Pietro… his power was different. He could move faster than anyone. Not just fast, but so fast you couldn't see him move.”

Hermione nods. “I read about what happened to your brother. I'm very sorry.”

“Thank you,” Wanda murmurs, and Vision squeezes her shoulder. 

“So, uh, what's the plan here? I know y'all didn't just come down here to ask us about our abilities.”

Hermione glances at Sam appraisingly. “You're right, of course. We need to figure out how to defeat this Loki person. And I think Harry and Ron will be able to help.”

“Would be a hell of a lot easier if Thor was here,” Tony mutters. 

“This is where I come in,” Ron says cheerfully. “I'm not bad at strategy, so I need to know everything you know about Loki and his abilities so we can plan.”

“Not bad?” Hermione asks with a laugh. “You're the best strategist in the whole of the MLE office.”

“She's right, mate. You're miles better than me,” Harry adds ruefully. 

“Well, that wouldn't be hard, would it?” Ron teases, and Harry punches him on the shoulder. 

Steve watches the interplay between the three of them, and realizes that these three have a friendship that goes beyond anything he's known, except for himself and Bucky. 

“You three… I hate to ask, but you've fought a war together, haven't you?” Steve asks softly, and they look at him sharply. 

“Yes,” Hermione answers after a moment. “And we were on the run together for quite some time during that war. Why do you ask?”

Steve shrugs. “Just… something about the way the three of you interact.”

Ron clears his throat. “So. Loki?”

The team tell them everything they know about Loki, from his ability to influence to his powers of illusion. 

“Right,” Ron says once they've finished. “And on our team we've got two wizards, two super soldiers, a woman with extraordinary but unclassifiable powers, a guy who is basically bulletproof, an archer, an ex assassin, and a couple of people who can fly.”

“My suit does more than just fly!” Tony says, outraged, and Ron sighs. 

“Fine, but I'm just summing up the salient points. Now as far as we know, Loki doesn't know about wizards and witches, so we've got a bit of an advantage there. If we can ambush him, we might be able to do this. Do you have a quill and parchment?”

Steve laughs. “We've got pens and paper.”

“Muggle writing stuff! Cool.”

“What's a muggle?” Wanda asks, head tilted to one side. 

Hermione smiles. “A muggle is a non magical person. Or it is here. In America I believe they use “no-maj”.”

“There are wizards in America?”

Hermione gives Steve an incredulous look. “There are wizards all over the world.”

Tony hands a pen and paper to Ron, who starts scribbling, occasionally pausing and crossing something out, but finally nodding. 

“Okay, I think I've got a plan. And, if we're lucky, this just might work.”


	6. Chapter 6

They're going over the plan for the twentieth time when Tony's phone beeps. He looks at it, his expression grim. “FRIDAY says an anomaly has been reported in Camden. It sounds like Loki.”

Hermione nods. “Then this is it. I'd wish you good luck, but I don't believe you need it. Ron’s plan is solid.”

“Why aren't you coming again?” Steve asks her. 

“Because I'm Minister of Magic,” she replies ruefully. “I'm really not supposed to help on the ground. But I'll send more people if it turns out you need back up.”

Steve nods. “Suit up, folks, and let's get this show on the road. We'll meet downstairs in ten minutes.”

“You two can stay here,” Tony tells Harry and Ron. “Watch how my suit works.”

Ron nods eagerly, and Steve heads out with Bucky to their room. 

Ten minutes later, they're en route to Camden. Tony, Sam, and Vision fly ahead, and Harry and Ron tell them they'll ‘apparate’, before spinning around and disappearing. The others drive in their van, navigating the London traffic as best they can. 

When the van arrives, the others are already waiting outside. 

“We've checked the perimeter,” Tony tells them quietly. “We're all clear.”

They slowly troop inside, and Steve has to hide a smile when he sees Harry and Ron walking along in their robes, wands in hand. It's still quite strange to him that real magic exists, but given the things he's seen and done perhaps it isn't so surprising. 

Steve and Bucky enter the room where the anomaly was detected first, to see four Lokis standing around the room. 

“So you did come,” one of the Lokis says wearily. “I don't understand why you can't just let me get on with things.”

“Last time you got on with things there was an alien invasion that nearly wiped out New York,” Steve retorts, eyes narrowed. “I'm not letting you cause havoc again.”

“Such a pity,” another Loki says, and aims a weapon at Steve. Steve gets his shield up just in time, and the jet of light bounces off it harmlessly. 

“The real Loki is the one in the southwest corner,” Tony says in his ear. “We're entering now.”

Steve and Bucky turn to the real Loki, and Bucky opens fire. Loki deflects it easily, but then the others burst into the room and chaos ensues. Bucky, Natasha, and Sam are all firing at Loki, Wanda and Vision are working some kind of double whammy of power, Tony is firing blasts from his suit, and Clint is shooting arrows at a surprising speed even for him. 

Loki is so distracted, he doesn't seem to notice the change in atmosphere as Harry and Ron enter, completely invisible. As Loki fires wildly, he suddenly goes completely still, as though turned to stone, and falls backwards into the floor. Ropes come from nowhere, and wrap themselves around him, and a muzzle appears on his mouth. 

The group walk over to look at the incapacitated god, and Harry and Ron appear next to them, grinning. 

“I think that went pretty well,” Ron says with a grin, and Steve laughs. 

“Yeah, I think it went a lot better than I expected. But who takes custody of him?”

Harry and Ron exchange a look. “You should really contact that Thor guy, get him to take charge, but until then we could put him in Azkaban?” Harry says quietly. 

“Azkaban?”

“Wizard prison,” Ron clarifies. 

“Sounds like a plan,” Tony says with a grin. “Just make sure they keep him muzzled.”

Harry and Ron nod, and Harry picks Loki up off the floor, an arm around his waist. 

“I guess this is goodbye, then,” Harry says with a frown, and Steve claps him on the shoulder. 

“Don't be a stranger, okay? Either of you.”

They nod, then Ron twirls and disappears. Harry shoots them a lopsided grin and twirls with Loki, and the two of them vanish. 

“I don't know about you,” Sam says after a moment of silence, “but I could eat.”

There's a murmur of agreement, and they troop outside and into the van in search of food. Bucky lays his head on Steve's shoulder, and Steve kisses his hair. He hopes they see Harry and Ron again. There's a lot he wants to ask them. But for now, he's just glad they've all got out in one piece. 

It certainly has been a magical encounter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking with this story! I've really enjoyed writing it, and hope you've enjoyed reading it! If you're on tumblr, please come find me there. I'm velvetjinx there too!


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